Automatic drilling-tool.



W. KAHLB.

AUTOMATIC DRILLING TOOL. APPLICATION FILED APR.21, 1910.

Patented July 3o, 1912.

Jn y@ m or @MQW/45M UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM KAHLE, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

AUTOMATIC DRILL'IG-TOOL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

'Patented July so, 1912.

Appueafioalea April 21, 1910'. serial No.' 556,863.

operate in a smooth and even manner with. out jarrin the Walking beam or suspending.' pipes; an

to provide, in combination with other features of the invention, means for automatically rotating the drilling tool so as to make the hole circular 'and truly vertical. In combination with other valuable features, the tool is adapted to receive and conduct to the bottom of the well a supply of water under pressure to eject the excavated material at the top of the well.

Referring to the accompanying drawings whichillustrate the invention,Figure l is ar side elevation of the cutter-supporting plunger and the sleeve around said plunger. said sleeve being broken away to show the spring for imparting the downward stroke to said plunger. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the tool, the greater portion of the outer jacket. being shown in mid-section. In this view the position of the plunger which carries the cutter is somewhat diiferent fro'rn the position shown in Fig. 1. Fig.'3.is a longitudinal mid-section of the tool,- the plunger-not being sectioned. Fig. 4 is a broken view on a reduced scale, partly in section showing the operating means and the upper portion of the tool. Fig. 5 is an enlarged transverse section looking up from line :125 of Fig. 2.

Referring in detail to thev drawings, the cutter 1 is fastened to the lower end of a plunger 2 -around which extends a sleeve 3 carried by the usual suspending pipe 4. Said sleeve 3 is provided with two longitudinal diametrically opposite slots 5. Each of said slots is widened toward one side of its upper end to provide a shoulder 6 at that side of the slot, said slot terminating at its upper end beyond said shoulder in a curved cam face 7 inclining toward the shouldered side thereof; Ilunger 2 is provided with a key 11 extending diametrically therethrough, the-ends of said key project-ing a short distance from the sides of said plunger.

The en d portions of said key lit loosely in the narrow portions of slots 5 and are adaptf ed to rest on 4the shoulders 6 to support the cutter v1.

Around sleeve 3 is a jacket consistingof an outer tube 12 which extends nearly'to the bottom of the well and lits within the" hole being drilled, and anfinner tube 13, the external diameter-of which is ldesirably a little less than the internal vdiameter of tube 12. Said 'inner tube 12 is supported in fixed relation to the tube 13, desirably by an enlarged portion 13 having screwthreaded engagement within the upper portion of the louter tube 12. The outer tube' 12 extends farther down than the .inner tube 13. The jacket comprised by these tubes 12 and 13 is provided inl its inner -tube or section 13 with longitudinal, diametrically opposite slots 14 which may be termed grooves with respect to the .jacket considered as a whole inasmuch as they extend only through the inner tube or section of the jacket. 4Each groove 14 is deflected at 15 at its upper end to form a cam face 16 which inclines in the reverse direction to the cam face 7 of the slot 5 in the plunger .on thev85 same side of the tool. The port-ion 15 of each groove is made wider than the rest of the groove. By reason of the tube 13 being spaced slightlyaway from the wall of the outer jacket 12, the key 11 is given a sufficient foothold at each end to guard it suiiiciently .against escaping from the slots 14, and it will be seen that this is accomplished without making the tube 13 with a thick cumbersome wall.

The outerA cylinder 12 ofV the j acket keeps the key 11 in place so that the end portions of the key are always within the slots 14. Upon the end portions of the key 11 bears a compression spiral spring 17, said spring' having `its upper bearing upon the lower end of the suspending pipe: 4 which is screwed into the upper end of sleeve 3. It is, however, obvious` that other means may be provided'to form a bearing for the upper end ofthe spring. The pipe 4' forms a portion vof the well known means for raising and lowering the cutter. During the downward travel of sleeve 3, the lower portion of pipe 4 moves freely over the upper portion of the plunger 2. The outer jacket comprised of tubes 12 and 13 keeps the sand and mud off from reciprocating parts therewithin. i

In Fig. 4 a portion lof't-he u'sual beam 21 is shown from the end of which is suspended a turn-buckle 22 by means of a screw threaded rod 23. The lower end of the turnbuckle may be bored out to receive a collar 24 fastened in by pins 25.` Said collar supports a swivel bolt o r pin 26 provided with a bail 27 connected with the upper section ot pipe 4.

The plunger 2 may be hollow thus providing a passage 28 from end to end thereof, said passage being continued at 28 through the cutter and opening out of the side of the cutter through an aperture 29.

Water may be conducted into the suspending pipe 4 by means of a hose 31 shown in Fig. 4, the water passing down through the passages 28 and 28 and thence'out the aperture 29 to, loosen up or force out the eX- cavated material.

O eration: Assuming the cutter 1 to be resting upon the bottom of the Well, and the plunger 2 in the position shown in Fig. 1, when the end of the walking-'beam 2l' descends the sleeve 3 suspended therefrom will be lowered until the cam faces 7 at the upper ends of the oppositely disposed slots 5 engage the end portions of the key 11 causing the sleeve 3 to rotate slightly to allow the key 11 to move-across thecam faces to a position vertically above shoulders 6. If the cutter is not too firmly embedded in the earth it may be rotated somewhat in the reverse direction. When thev reverse movement of the walking beam causes the sleeve 3 to ascend, the latter operates as a pick-up device because the shoulders 6 pick up the key 11 together with the plunger 2 and cutter 1, and the cutter plunger continues t0 move up against the opposition of spring 17 until the projecting end portions of key 11 engage the .cam faces 16 of grooves 14 of the jacket. Said cam faces 16 then slide the key ofi' from shoulders 6 and the cutter and plunger descend under the combined forces of gravity and the compression spring 17 at each descent striking a sharp blow' of uniform force upon the bottom of the Well. A slight step-by-step rotation will also be imparted to the'jacket members 12 and 13.

The cause of this step-by-step rotation of said jacket will be understood when it is noted that the end portions of key l1 at all times project into the grooves 14 of the jacket, so that any force tending to rotate said key in a horizontal plane will also tend to rotate the jacket members 12 and 13. Vhen the sleeve 3 (which is suspended by means of the pipe 4) descends, the beveled shoulders 7 of the slots 5 in said sleeve strike the key 11 as best illustrated in Fig. 1. The direct effect of the impact is to rotate the sleeve 3 but the reaction will also give a slightl rotation tothe tool carrying spindle 2 and the jacket members 12 and 13. The jacket and tool will naturally descend a trifle on account of the jar caused by the impact, and this descending movement will assist in=overcoming friction and will therefore aid -the torsional movement which takes place at the sametime.

I am aware that it is not broadly new to provide means for automatically lifting and releasing a drilling tool and causing the same to strike the bottom of a well under the action of a spring, but this invention is an advance step in the art to which it pertains by reason of the employment `of a simplified construction to perform the functions just mentioned A .single key which extends diametrically of the tool is employed to control all the operations of the cutter.

I claim: i

1. In automatic drillingapparatus, a relatively stationary outer jacket adapted tov t within the hole being drilled, a tube (13) Within said jacket, said jacket having interior threads and said tube having an enlarged portion provided with external threads to screw into the threads on the interior of said jacket, said tube being suspended by said lenlarged threaded portion and provided with a narrow annular cham- Iber therearou-nd between the'same and said jacket, a cutter, a reciprocatory plunger, to which said cutter is attached, a key carried by and extending diametrically through said plunger, a pick-up device to automatically pick up and release said plunger by means of said key, said pick-up device being provided with cam faces that strike said key when said device descends and thereby impart a step-by-step rotation to said plunger and cutter, and means to raise and lower said pick-up device, said tube (13) having vertical guide slots that receive the ends of said key, the interior surface of said outer jacket preventing endwise displacement of said key and said slots in'said tube causing the torsion of the pickup device upon said key to impart a stepby-step rotation to said outer jacket into which said tube is screwed.

2. In automatic drilling apparatus, a relatively stationary outer jacket adapted to fit within the hole being drilled, a tube within said jacket, said tube having an enlarged portion which is secured Within said jacket with a fit rendering said tube nonrotatable with respect to said jacket during operation, there being a slight space around said tube between the same and said jacket, a cutter, a reciprocatory plunger by which said cutter is carried, a key carried by and extending diametrically through said plunger, a pick-up device to automatically pick up and release said plunger by means of said key, said pick-up device being provided with cam faces that strike said key when said device descends and thereby impart a step-bystep rotation to said plunger' and cutter, andv that receive the ends of said key, the engage,

ment of the end portions of said key within said slots of said tube causingthe operation of the pick-up device to impart a stepby-step rotation to said outer jacket.

3. In an automatic drilling tool, a jacket adapted to rest on the bottom of the well, a tube slightly less in diameter than said jacket, said tube having an enlarged externally threaded upper portion screwed into said jacket, the lower portion of said tube being longitudinally slotted and rslightly spaced away from the inner wall of said projecting jacket, a reciproca-tory plungenwithin said jacket, a key carried by said plunger and therefrom through the slotted portion of said tube, a reciprocatory pickup device'having a vbeveled shoulder adapted to strike said key and to impart rotation to said jacket and plunger, and means to raise and lower said pick-up device.

In testimony `whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses at Los Angeles, in the countyl of Los Angeles and State of California, this 16th day of April 1910( WILLIAM KAHLE.

Witnesses:

ALBERT H. MERRILL,

FLORA H. Foss. 

